oUtBrEaK
by Lucille Bluejay
Summary: Do you REALLY think you've won?" Thrax growled as he etched deep scratches into the glass with his clawed hand. He glared at Jones daringly, "This game ain't over. Not by a long shot." Jones glared back and said, "It's over Thrax. You lost."
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Osmosis Jones and Thrax are a part of a copyrighted movie belonging to Warner Brothers. The original movie, Osmosis Jones, was written by Marc Hyman and directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly. I, Lucille Bluejay, do not any of the characters that were featured in the film.

**oUtBrEaK**

The ice encasement around Thrax's hand shattered as he struck Jones and sent him flying across the eye's moist surface. He flexed his cold stiff hand and glanced at his Hypothalamus chain, a wide smile spreading to his face. He held up his chain between his fingers saying, "You know what Jones? You want this chain so bad?"

Thrax pulled the chain between his hands and approached from behind as the cell began to unwind his twisted neck.

"Then Big Daddy Thrax is gonna let you have it!" he said as he looped the chain tightly around Jones's neck.

Jones wheezed painfully as he pulled at the chain. Thrax leaned in and said triumphantly, "Looks good on you, Jones! You wear it well!"

Jones began to gag and writhe, his neck stretching as Thrax got to his feet and pulled him upwards.

"Shame you had to come this far from home just to die!"

A loud whooshing sound came from behind and Thrax let out a scream as he turned to see the eyelid come crashing over them. The two were blown far out onto the eyelashes, Thrax digging his claws into an eyelash to stay on ground and Jones barely managing to cling onto the tip before he fell several feet below.

Thrax got up and stumbled as the eyelash jerked downwards. He looked out into the distance and saw a dot of blue and white crouching on the furthest end of the eyelash he was on. He let out a loud growl of rage and ran full speed towards Jones.

The white blood cell turned and Thrax tackled him onto the hard surface of the eyelash, grinning maliciously as he rammed his glowing talon deep into Jones's abdomen.

Thrax let out a throaty laugh and said in twisted voice, "Can you feel the HEAT Jones?"

Jones winced and struggled painfully, his hand tightening around the Hypothalamus chain. Thrax leaned in and cocked his head to the side as he watched Jones struggle. He said tauntingly, "Too bad you won't be here to see me break my record when I take down Frank's pretty little girl."

Jones suddenly broke into a grin that took Thrax by surprise.

"She ain't goin' down, _you are_!" he declared and looked down at his abdomen. His membrane had formed a hole around Thrax's hand which was embedded deep into the eyelash.

"What?" Thrax blurted out as he turned up the heat on his talon but the material around it refused to burn away. He pulled at his wrist roughly but his hand still wouldn't pull out.

In a flash, Jones's upper half split in two and he pulled himself out from under Thrax. He ran, his upper body melding itself back together while he sprinted away from the virus and towards the root of the eyelash. Thrax glared after him menacingly and tugged furiously at his hand. His yellow eyes widened in horror as he continued to pull, feeling the ground beneath him tilt. The area around his talon burned a scalding red and cracked in several areas as he gave his hand a rough twist, screaming wildly.

Just as the false eyelash fell several feet below, Jones barely managed to jump from it and grab onto a rope of adhesive that hung from Shane's real eyelashes. He heard hoarse screaming and looked down to see the false eyelash fall into a jar of alcohol standing at the foot of the stretcher.

Everything around Jones turned abruptly and he swung wildly from the rope. Voices boomed around him and he began to panic when he heard the nurses urge Shane to leave the room.

"Hey—hey—hey—NO!" Jones exclaimed as he dangled dangerously from the swinging adhesive and was carried farther and farther away. "Frank! _Frank_!"

He felt Shane's shaking sobs and protests, and then he felt the violent tremors of her voice and her movements as she tore herself free from the nurses. As Shane's sobs continued, the rope of adhesive he clung to began to thin and tear. Jones looked up fearfully and began to climb upwards. As he did, a massive teardrop came rolling out of her eye and made its way down the eyelash towards him. Taking his chances, Jones quickened his pace.

Then the rope he held snapped and fell away from her eye.

Jones let out a horrified scream as he fell. His limbs wind milled wildly through the air and terrified shrieks began tumbling out of his mouth. "Nonononooooooo! Thisisn'thappeningthisisn'thappeningthisisn'thappening! I'mgonnadiei'mgonnadie!"

He let out a blood curdling scream. Then, without thinking, he stretched his body wide until he was nothing more than a thin square with his hands and feet at the corners. His thin body caught onto a current of air and his falling came to an abrupt end as he glided unsteadily downwards. Jones looked around, seeing that he was several feet above Frank's open mouth he shifted his body back into its original form and straightened himself out and bullet dived towards what he hoped to Frank was the uvula.

Jones's eyes watered against the hard wind that struck his face. He gritted his teeth and straightened himself out even more than possible, forcing himself to go even faster. In his watery vision he could make out the dark entrance of the throat—he didn't see the sharply angled silhouette zooming up towards him at the same exact speed.

In a matter of a split second—Jones saw a blaze of red and felt an unbelievably powerful force crack itself against his head.


	2. sTiMuLi

sTiMuLi

"…_It has been five whole days since the death of Frank. As nearly the entire population of the Shane's Frontal Lobe has stopped its activity to focus on the mourning of Frank, the rest of Shane Metropolis has slowed in its activity. Though 90% of Shane's Metropolis does feel sincerely mournful towards this horrible tragedy, they have chosen to move on in hopes of a brighter future…_

_In other news, the legislature is having another meeting concerning Shane's issues with Frank's funeral arrangements and the agent from child welfare. Stay tuned as we head on over to live feed from this emergency meeting_…"

The she-cell's voice came in garbled and confusing. Jones opened his eyes and the blinding gold ceiling light above his head spun wildly. He groaned, holding back a gag. His head ached and felt like it was shattered despite his elastic-like body composition. When Jones's blurry vision cleared slightly he found himself on the ugly, itchy area rug of some apartment with his limbs lying out in awkward positions. Jones got up shakily.

"Aww…man…whut th'Frank hit me?" he whispered.

"Me, Mr. Jones," said a dark voice from close by.

Jones's mind shot into full gear as he jumped upright, staggering and eventually stumbling down to the floor again. Everything around him kept doubling and spinning out of control. He looked to where the voice came from and saw the hazy twin figures of Thrax sitting an armchair a few feet away.

"Y-you…" Jones muttered bewilderedly. But soon he steadied and his voice came out as a harsh growl. "_You_!"

Thrax's brows creased and he flashed a toothy grin, "Yes, _me_, Jones. Surprised?"

"How are you still alive?" he asked, his voice raising. "You fell into a glass of alcohol—_you should've died_!

The virus played with the Hypothalamus chain and said pleasantly, "You saw the _falsie_ fall into the alcohol. I managed to rip my hand out before I fell."

Jones shut his eyes tightly and when he opened them again Thrax's twin figures morphed back into one vexing figure that was reclining back leisurely with legs crossed. He looked around the apartment, confused. Thrax said aloud the thought that was Jones's mind, "Do you know where you are right now?"

Jones looked around again. The apartment living room they were in was rather big but sparsely decorated. The couch stood in the middle of the room with the rug in front of it and the matching armchair that Thrax sat in stood beside a wide single pane window. There was an empty table near what Jones assumed to be the entry door behind him. An old fashioned TV with crooked antennas sat on top a chest of drawers opposite of the couch. It was backed up against a wall with two doors on either side of it.

If Jones didn't know any better he would have said he was in his own apartment back in downtown Frank except it was completely cleaned out of the mess he usually had laying around.

"You're in Shane Metropolis, Jones," Thrax said to him and caused him to snap his head up in attention. "After I got loose from that falsie I flew back up and followed you back to Frank. I saw you falling, and I knew you still had my chain. I couldn't let you get back inside, now could I? So before you even made it past the guy's lips I flew up and—BAM!"

He struck the back of his hand to create a loud smacking sound for emphasis.

"I hit you so hard upside the head that your head practically ripped off your body! I grabbed you and flew into the girl's mouth while she was sniveling over her dead daddy," Thrax sneered, his lips curling back over his teeth. "You should've heard her, Jones. She was _so_ sad. It breaks my heart to see a poor little girl all alone in the world without a daddy…so I've been planning a little surprise for her."

Thrax's face suddenly brightened and he pointed out the television to Jones when an announcement said, "_The funeral arrangements have been decided. But as for Shane's new place of residence, we have yet to decide on which side of the family to have her live with_..."

Jones's eyes darted towards the television across the room. An image that only stayed on for a second caused his eyes to grow wide in horror.

"_We are leaning in favor of Shane's maternal side of the family. But we are having some difficulty with this favorability due half the legislature wanting to stay with the paternal side. Reasons for that are that Frank was all Shane had left of her closest family, and they believe that it is better for Shane to live with whoever was the next closest relative of her father's_..."

Frank lay beneath a blue sheet on a metal table, his face gray and his lips purple. A line of dark black stitches sewn over a deep cut down the middle of his chest peeked from beneath the sheet.

Jones's body slumped and he stared into space in fearful disbelief. Thrax leaned back in his chair with a smile of victory on his face. He intertwined his clawed fingers and watched in amusement at the white blood cell's stunned reaction.

Jones sat frozen on the floor but when he looked over at Thrax, who gave a chuckle and wiggled his claws in greeting, he clambered to his feet—pulling out the gun from its halter around his ankle and aimed it right in between Thrax's eyes. Jones breathed raggedly, the gun shaking in his hand.

"_You_…" he growled threateningly. "I'M GONNA BLOW YO DAMN HEAD OFF!!!"

Thrax knocked the gun out of Jones's hand, the blast shattering the window next to him, and punched Jones in the stomach and used a single backhand to knock him back onto the floor. Thrax wasted no time in beating the cytoplasm out of the immunity cell until the features of his face and body were practically beaten into disfigurement. With Jones groaning and breathing harshly in pain, Thrax pinned down Jones's shoulders with his knees and held his glowing talon barely a centimeter from Jones's forehead. He tsked in mock pity.

"Aww…poor, poor Osmosis Jones," Thrax mocked in a babying voice. "Lookit you. All alone now 'cause you FAILED to save your precious Frank City."

When Thrax spat out the word 'failed', Jones glared at him hatefully and struggled against the weight that pinned him down. Thrax frowned at the effort and punched him in the head, causing him to grunt in agony. But Jones continued to struggle. Thrax watched him in genuine amazement of his unfaltering determination.

He let out an amused scoff and said, "How does it _feel_, Jones? To know that you, of all the pathetic cells living in that disgusting body, got to play a part in my grand plan to etch myself deep into medical history? Your complete FAILURE turned out to be my greatest success. Huh—forget all those other small-fry. Frank was the BIG one! He was just one of the first steps on the ladder of makin' big history for me! Forty-eight hours flat, can you believe it Jones? The next one's gonna be within the 30-hour time span. Ooh-_hooo_! That's gonna be so much fun, baby!"

"I'm not gonna let you kill Shane!" Jones spat out angrily.

"I'll be doin' her a favor," Thrax said. "I've heard her complaints jones. The entire Metropolis has. She misses her mommy and daddy. And I mean she _really_ misses them. Shane wishes that their deaths never even happened and that they could be one big happy family again. I was touched by her bawling. And with me being the kind man that I am, I'm gonna grant Shane her wish and help her be with her parents like she wants."

"_No_!" Jones yelled and dug his fingers deep into Thrax's knees.

Thrax winced and struck Jones on the head again, his talon blazing even brighter as it barely touched Jones's face. Jones's fingers refused to release themselves but Thrax ignored it and grinned.

"You wanna know what they did to Frank?" he said tauntingly. "They took X-rays, PET Scans, CT Scans—almost everything you think of. They checked every single part of him to find out what the hell killed him. They even cut him up and took a look at every single organ he had. But you wanna know something? They couldn't find a damn thing! I was very disappointed Jones. Especially when that jackass…"

Thrax suddenly grew even more vicious and got off of Jones only to pick him up by the neck and slam him against a wall a few times.

"Do you know what they blamed his death on?!" Thrax screamed. "They blamed his death on fucking _malaria_!"

Jones was slammed repeatedly against the wall until he saw stars in his eyes from the impacts and the lack of oxygen from the hand wrapped tightly around his throat. When Thrax finally stopped, he sneered into Jones's face.

"I'm gonna to kill that entire hospital," Thrax hissed. "I'm gonna kill every single damn person this lil' bitch comes into contact with! And you…_you_ are gonna watch every moment of it Jones!"

He flung Jones across the floor and stood over him with rage engulfing his features. Jones lay gasping in pain, glaring at Thrax with hatred.

"You one sick freak," Jones spit out. "You gonna keep me alive just t'watch chu kill all those people?"

Thrax relaxed and looked down at him. He ran his claws through his dreadlocks and said pleasantly, "Oh, that's not the only reason why I chose t'keep you alive."

"Then what for?" Jones asked angrily.

"As a playmate."

The answer was said so easily and quickly that Osmosis didn't register it fast enough. But once he did, he looked at Thrax in disgust and moved as far away as possible. Thrax saw the expression on his face and let out a scornful laugh.

"Ahahahahaaaaa! Jones, you don't honestly think that I meant it in _that_ way do you? And you call _me_ a sick freak? That's funny! That's really funny!"

As Thrax laughed Jones looked around for his gun but found it near Thrax's heel. He got onto his knees then used the nearby table to help him get to his feet. He had to get that gun somehow.

"So," he said resentfully. "In what way do you mean by 'playmate'?"

Thrax held up the Hypothalamus chain that was wrapped around his wrist. "You see all these little beads of DNA? Each one of them is a memory of a victim I killed off and for each one, not a single damn cell—out of _trillions_ living in each victim—did anything to stop me. None of them realized I was even there until it was way too late. But you, my good man, actually found me out."

The virus walked closer to Jones as he spoke, leaning in closely. "You made my job even more fun! Your pathetic attempt to stop me gave me a bit of a challenge, made the game more interesting, you know what I'm sayin'? So I brought you here, to Shane Metropolis, to play in a new game but with the same rules: I destroy the body and you try to stop me. Now doesn't that sound like fun?"

Jones shoved him back, moving past and around him until he felt his foot tap lightly against the barrel of his gun. He morphed his battered body back into place and stood firm saying, "Yeah, that sounds like a spit-load o' fun yo ugly baboon butt-faced, girly locked, glowy nail-polished freak."

"Oh, come now. There's not need for childish wise cracks," Thrax scolded. "Jones, this is a big boy's game! I suggest you grow up 'fore you end up in a disadvantage."

"Don't count on it!" Jones kicked his gun up into his hand and fired several shots at Thrax. Thrax dodged each shot with and rushed forward—his talon blazing. He sliced the gun barrel in half, giving Jones a hard roundhouse kick in the side which sent him flying into the television in the other side of the room. The television's screen shattered and sparked, the electrical charge shocking Jones into unconsciousness.

Thrax stood over his limp body, shaking his head.

"Mmh-mmh-mmh…" he hummed in disappointment. He sighed as he straightened out his coat. "This game was way too short-lived, Jones! Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. But I bet I'm gonna get a real kick outta this one!"

He crouched down and made a swipe at Jones's throat. But as he did so, Jones suddenly sprung back to life and grabbed his wrist, shoving his talon deep into what was left of the gun.

"RRRAAAAGH!!!!" Thrax bellowed. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH A'YOU!!!"

Jones used both his heels to knock Thrax backwards before the virus could get a hold of him.

"Later, suckah!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran out the room.

The gun melted and boiled on Thrax's talon. He flung it across the room and shielded himself just as the gun exploded, blowing up a small portion of the building.

Amid smoke and flames, Thrax crawled out from under a pile of debris. He gave himself a rough pat down to get the dirt off his coat and he said to himself, "So it's still on is it?"

A smirk broke onto his face as he fished his sunglasses out of his coat pocket and placed them over his eyes.

"Heh—then game on, baby!"


	3. IgNiTeD

IgNiTeD

Jones just managed to get around the corner of another hall before a good amount of the building was blown sky high.

A dozen startled cries came from behind several doors and Jones leaped into action. The closest door to him flew open and a startled red blood cell holding a baby called out to him.

"What happened? What's going on?" she cried frantically. When the smoke clouded her vision she let out a short scream and started to call out to her family inside. "Jerry! Oh, Shane—get the kids! The building's on fire!"

Jones darted forward and clutched onto her arm, "Wait—wait—wait! You gotta call the immunity force, there's a virus here in this building and he's out to kill Shane!"

"_What_?" the she-cell cried incredulously. "You can't be serious—just who the heck are you?!"

"My name is Osmosis Jones," he explained loudly over the alarmed voices and screams that were rising throughout the building. "I'm with the immunity force from Frank City and I—"

"Saline!" another red blood cell rushed out of the doorway with a set of triplet toddlers in his arms. "Come on—we gotta get outta here! Saline! _Saline_!"

The confused she-cell stared at Jones with disbelief until her husband's frantic urges snapped her out of it and she wrenched herself out of Jones's grip, escaping down the smoky hall. Jones followed close behind them and soon found himself in a small stampede of frightened cells. They all squeezed themselves down the stairwell and ran down at least five stories until they burst through the first floor doors and pooled out into the street to look up at the burning building.

Jones's eyes narrowed at the gaping burning hole on the top floor of the apartment building, looking for any signs of Thrax. He ran forward into the narrow alley between the burning apartment building and the building next to it. He came out into a wide lane behind the apartment and ran the entire length of it, looking in all directions for any sign of the virus.

A back window from the next door building opened and a red blood cell stuck his head out and called out to Jones, "Hey! What the Shane is goin' on buddy?"

"Call the inflammation department! There's a buildin' on fire!" Jones screamed at him without stopping his search.

He skid to a halt when the lane ended to a busy street. He looked up at all the tall buildings and at all the windows. He looked down the street at all the cars and cells. There was absolutely no sign of Thrax. Unless…

"That tough son-of-a salmonella's still in there!" Jones said angrily to himself, running around the block to the apartment building. He bumped into several cells on the way, including the startled she-cell he first saw when he got out into the hallway of the apartment.

"Hey!" she came up to him and pulled him aside from the crowd. Once they had a little space they met up with her husband and triplets on a corner on the opposite street.

"Y-you said that you were from Frank's i-i-immunity force?" she asked with a shaky voice.

"What?" her husband said in disbelief. "That's not possible—Frank's dead! He's been dead for the past five days!"

"Don't you think I fuckin' know that?!" Jones yelled at him.

The he-cell recoiled from the outburst and his wife joined him. Seeing their alarmed faces Jones forced himself to calm down. He said, "A'ight, a'ight—look. You _got_ to believe me when I say that I'm from Frank's immunity force. If y'all want proof, here it is."

He unlatched the gun holster from his ankle and showed them the imprinting on the side.

_Frank City Immunity Force_

_FCI_

The couple looked at the inscription and said nothing when they looked back up at Jones.

"Now listen," he continued. "There was a virus in that building."

"A-a-a-a virus?" the he-cell sputtered.

"That can't be true," his wife said firmly.

"Well it is. You gotta get Shane's immunity force over here and see if he's still in there. I scouted the surrounding area but I didn't see any sign of him. He was the _same_ virus that killed Frank and now he's after Shane. You need the entire city to get on high alert or else you're all gonna die!"

"And just why the hell should we believe you?" the he-cell snapped suspiciously. "For all we know you could have been the one that blew up our apartment or you're working for that so-called virus!"

"LOOK, man!" Jones shouted at the top of his lungs. "I'm tryin' to help save your city! Now if you don' wanna fuckin' DIE I suggest to listen to what I say and take it to heart!"

Before the he-cell gave an angry response a blare of sirens filled the air and two inflammation trucks came zooming down the street followed by several immunity cars and ambulances. The inflammation men came out and began to speedily attach their hoses to nearby hydrants and started spraying down the building. The immunity force also came out with barracks and used them to guide the alarmed crowd as far away from the building as possible to form a safety perimeter.

Jones pushed through the crowd and called out to the closest immunity officer. "Hey! HEY!"

"Sir, stay behind the barracks," the immunity officer ordered.

"I'm with Frank's immunity force!" he yelled out. The officer and the cells around him looked at him in surprise. "You gotta get some people in there! There's a virus on the loose and he might still be in the building!"

The word 'virus' ignited a wave of panic over the surrounding people and the immunity officer grabbed Jones by the arm and hauled him to a couple of immunity cars a few yards away before the crowd broke into hysteria.

"Please remain calm, people!" the officer called out over her shoulder. "We'll have the force and inflammation department check out the inside of the building! It is important for you all to remain calm!"

When they were well away from the crowd the officer looked at him in the eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

"Officer Osmosis Jones," he replied. "Frank City immunity force."

He showed the gun holster with the inscription as proof and the officer flipped open her badge after eyeing the holster suspiciously.

"Officer Reah Iris, Shane Metropolis immunity force," she said flatly. "Now what's this about a virus, sir?"

"He was in that buildin' before it exploded," Jones said quickly. "You gotta get your men in there to check it out. This virus is the _same_ one that killed Frank and now he's after Shane! You gotta get the entire city on full alert before it's too late!"

Officer Iris looked analytically into Jones's face and for a moment he thought she didn't buy his story.

She quickly whipped out her communicator and barked out, "We got a Code Black, 000-666-04—requesting S.W.A.T team. I repeat—we got a Code Black, 000-666-04—requesting S.W.A.T. team we got a virus out on the loose here in the lower abdomen between the bladder and smaller intestine inside an apartment building on 144th, Carrier Street. I repeat—we got a virus loosed here in the lower abdomen between the bladder and smaller intestine inside an apartment building on 144th, Carrier Street. Requesting S.W.A.T. team to arrive ASAP!"

She pulled out a bullhorn from the car and made an announcement saying, "Attention immunity force and inflammation department. Attention immunity force and inflammation department. Please use caution when entering the building! We have received word that a virus is in the building. Please approach with utmost precaution upon comprehending virus."

Her announcement set off the bystanders into a wild panic and before she and another officer went forward to calm them she said to Jones in a serious voice, "You better be right about this."

"I am," Jones said with certainty. He looked up at the building now almost completely engulfed in flames. "I know I am..."

After most of the fire had been put out, the S.W.A.T team arrived and quarantined the area within minutes, stopping traffic and sending many of the bystanders farther away. Jones stuck close as he could to the immunity car and once the S.W.A.T. team questioned him he flashed his holster's inscription and gave his title.

A couple members of the S.W.A.T. team raised their rifles against him and ordered him to get down onto the ground with his hands behind his head. An officer lowered his gun and quickly frisked Jones down and roughly put him in a pair of heavy handcuffs that encased his hands entirely. He was pulled up and hauled towards a heavily armored van nearby.

"Whoa—wait a second!" he cried as he was pushed into the van. "I'm not the one you should be arresting!"

"We're taking you to the Liver for interrogation," gruffed one of the S.W.A.T. men.

"But the virus—!" Jones protested.

"Until we find it," he said. "You'll be taken to the Liver for interrogation."

They slammed the door in Jones's face and signaled the driver to leave. Jones leaned in to look through the barred window and jumped back after a shock of blue electricity crackled in his face—there was kind of force field on the inside of the van. Jones cautiously looked through the little barred glass window again at the quarantined building that was growing farther and farther away. The van made a sharp turn, knocking him into the side of the van. He let out a frustrated groan and slid quickly to the floor.

He gave the metal wall a hard slam with his handcuffed fists.

"Dammit, dammit, _dammit_!" he scowled while he hit the wall a couple more times, cussing viciously as the reality of what had happened began to sink in.

Frank was dead…all those cells in his body…dead. All dead because of that bastard virus.

Jones hit the wall more forcefully, causing the force field inside to crackle with sparks that stung his arms.

Thrax killed them all. He killed every single organism in Frank. He killed Drix. He killed Doug, the chief, the mayor, and he killed…

"_Mother fucker_!" Jones screamed at the top of his lungs. He slammed his fists against the wall and the force field's electricity crackled angrily and shocked his body.

Jones fell backwards with a pained moan, steam rising from his body. He rolled over onto his side and pressed his forehead against the cold metal floor of the van. He stayed that way the entire trip.


	4. DiAgNoSiS

DiAgNoSiS

When the van arrived at the Liver, several heavily armed immunity officers opened the van's backdoor and raised their guns at Jones. One of them ordered him to slowly step out of the van and Jones did as he was ordered, getting up from his place on the floor of the van. Two of the officers grabbed him and practically dragged him into the Liver's entrance.

The Liver turned out to be a maximum security jail with many floors and hallways and elevators. Jones and his armed escorts went through what felt like a massive maze, going from one hallway to the next elevator and from the elevator to the next hallway through one door after the other. They took several turns but from what Jones could tell, they were steadily heading lower to the deepest parts of the building. He caught glimpses of large cell blocks filled with germs and bacteria behind what looked like glowing electric glass. As they journeyed into the lowest parts of the building the cell blocks grew smaller and smaller and more heavily guarded against the monster-looking beings they contained.

Throughout this trip Jones stayed silent, eyeing the officers around him and keeping track of the path they had taken. But he had lost track after they had made it down to the fifth floor after going through several doors. In case things got a little dangerous, he'd just have to make his own way out.

They rode an elevator down for several minutes. When the doors opened Jones felt the sharp end of a gun barrel jab him in the back and force him out into a very long, brightly lit hall. The gun barrel continued to jab at him, forcing him to walk forward. He and his escorts walked toward an iron door with a key-pad beside it.

One of the officers punched in a complex series of numbers and the door clicked open. Two officers opened the door while the rest had their guns aimed at Jones's back as they moved inside.

The room was massive, completely blinding due to all the white in the room and the 100-watt lights that took up most of the ceiling. There was a giant glowing electric dome in the middle of the room with a large tube in the center of it that ran from the floor to the ceiling. The officer that had punched in the code numbers to the door came up to him and ordered him to get into the dome and stand beneath the giant tube.

Jones looked at the dome questioningly and stood still. He heard a series of metallic clicks behind him and he quickly made for the dome. Once he approached it an archway seemed to melt in front of him, allowing him entrance and quickly disappeared once he stepped inside. The same thing happened when he got into the tube but when he looked up towards the ceiling of it he let out a startled noise.

High above his head was a giant, dangerous looking canon aimed down at him.

"_What the fuck is that supposed to be for_?!" Jones asked shrilly. His voice echoed loudly in the room but the guards ignored him and fanned out around the dome with their guns still poised in their hands. His eyes went rapidly from the guards surrounding him to the giant canon above him. He gulped apprehensively and fell back on his rear onto the padded floor.

They all remained still for what felt like hours until a sharp click boomed in the room followed by the heavy grinding of the metal door. Osmosis looked up to see that another heavily armed group of guards were guiding in two brain cells, one was a tall lanky he-cell wearing a dark blue suit and the other was a young she-cell that looked like his daughter in a matching suit. They were followed closely behind by a white blood cell doctor who rolled in an intricate looking machine covered in wires and light tubes. After the doctor, a white blood she-cell wearing the chief of immunity force uniform followed suit. All four of these cells gathered around the dome.

"You the mayor of Shane?" Jones asked the tall lanky brain cell.

"That would be me," the young she-cell told him pertly. Jones's brows shot up in surprise. The she-cell was very small, looking more like a little kid playing president in her dress up business suit and braided pig tails rather than the actual leader of a city filled with trillions of cells.

"I'm Mayor Sucrose Lane," she said in a very business-like tone. "This is my Vice Mayor, Louis Sternum. The head of immunity force, Director Carrie Melanin, and one of Shane's best doctors, Dr. Nicton Carl. Who are you?"

"Officer Osmosis Jones, Frank Immunity Force," Jones stated for what seemed like the millionth time.

"That so?" said the tall lanky brain cell, Vice Mayor Sternum. Jones didn't like the way the guy tilted his head slightly and looked at him with half lidded eyes.

"Yeah, that's so," Jones replied rudely.

"Let him out," Mayor Lane ordered to some unseen person in the ceiling and the glass tube raised itself above Jones. When the dome flickered and disappeared the guards formed a closer circle around him with guns still raised.

Mayor Lane gestured to the doctor, a skinny sick-looking cell with deep creases in his face, to bring the machine closer to Jones. She had one of the guards bring Jones to his feet to stand him next to the machine. The doctor immediately got to work on attaching several wires into Jones's membrane. The doctor, despite Jones's protests, held an extremely sharp looking device in his hand to Jones's forehead.

"This will hurt," the doctor said and quickly shoved the needle deep into Jones's forehead. Jones let out a let out a strangled yell and jerked against the grip of the guard.

"He's ready," Dr. Carl said to Mayor Lane. Mayor Lane nodded to Vice Mayor Sternum to approach the machine. Dr. Carl proceeded with attaching the same wires into the vice mayor in the same places as Jones. Jones scoffed when the vice mayor only furrowed his brows slightly against the pain of the needle being shoved into his forehead.

"Alright you two," the doctor said to them. "It is important that you stay still. This will be extremely painful."

"What?" Jones blurted out.

The machine came to life and Jones felt an extremely painful sting shoot throughout his body. He let out a short yell and used all his strength to keep himself upright but failed and the guard struggled to hold him up. The vice mayor wasn't doing so well either. Vice Mayor Sternum had fallen onto his side and had clamped his eyes shut and grit his teeth in pain.

The stinging lasted for a good ten minutes before it dimmed to a halt, leaving Jones and Vice Mayor Sternum panting in agony. The doctor immediately came forward and pulled out the needle from both their foreheads and inserted them in to separate slots on either side of a screen on the machine. Many of the guards came to vice mayor's aid and helped him up while the rest came over to Jones and aimed their guns at his head.

"You gotta be kiddin' me," Jones grumbled angrily when several gun barrels came over him.

The machine whirred and beeped and the doctor tapped away at the screen, moving around many images. Osmosis staggered to his feet and said, "What tha hell was all this for?"

"It's a DNA test," Mayor Lane said. "If you're really who you say you are, then your DNA should match up with Vice Mayor Sternum's whose DNA is the same as everyone else's in this body."

"And it looks like a match," Dr. Carl said, showing them the screen. On the right was a chart of Jones's DNA make up and on the left was Vice Mayor's Sternum's. The two charts overlapped each other and were a perfect match. When the cells in the room saw that there was a sudden stillness. Mayor Lane's mouth dropped open slightly and she approached the machine and studied the overlapped charts.

"You sure this is a completely positive match?" she asked Dr. Carl.

"Absolutely no doubt about it, mayor," the doctor answered.

"Then unhook him from this thing! And you—" she snapped at the closest guard. "Get those cuffs off."

The two cells did as they were told and as soon as Jones was free the guard nudged him roughly back beneath the tube. The tube quickly came down on him again and Mayor Lane came closer, staring at hard Jones through the glass.

"Mr. Jones, was it?" she asked him.

"Officer Jones," he corrected.

"Right. Officer Jones," she continued. "We heard reports of you saying that there's a virus on the loose?"

"Yes, a virus named Thrax has got himself into Shane after Frank died. Thrax is in here and he's plannin' on killing Shane."

This statement startled the mayor and everyone in the room but they all remained silent.

Jones continued, "Thrax is after the hypothalamus gland in Shane's brain. He's gonna swipe a part of it and cause her to get an extreme fever and take out every cell in 'ere. But before he does that he gathers a crew of other germs and bacteria to help him out and give symptoms that look like a cold so that the people around won't notice anything suspicious. You gotta put the city on high alert before everyone dies!"

The mayor stood still for a while, looking at Jones. Then she said, "I suspected as much… When doctors questioned Franks' friend Bob, they found out that Frank had gotten a cold before he died. Shane begged the doctors to find out what's happened to him but they haven't found anything and what they did find pointed towards malaria. I was still suspicious so I gave the Metropolis a warning to be on a look out for anything suspicious in case whatever caused his death was contagious. If what you're saying is true then my guesses were right on the mark."

Jones clenched his hands when she mentioned Frank's death. He lowered his eyes and grew rigid. Mayor Lane's eyes softened in sympathy and she placed a hand lightly on the glass.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Not as sorry as I am," Jones murmured.

Mayor Lane moved herself into his range of view and gazed at him sternly. "You're telling the truth, I can clearly see it. I'll put the entire city on high alert immediately. Do you know how many days we've got?"

Osmosis focused his eyes on the young mayor and said, "Less than two days."

The mayor quickly turned around and began to leave the room, barking orders to everyone as she did.

"Director Melanin, have your men escort us, including Officer Jones, to the Cerebellum Hall and alert all immunity forces throughout the city to be on the look out for this virus. Dr. Carl, meet up with the bio-weaponry council and continue your work on the latest weapons. Move it!"

The room came to life with movement and when the glass tube rose up, Jones followed the mayor and the guards out into the hall and through the building. When they arrived outside the Liver they were escorted into a limo and drove off into the direction of the Cerebellum Hall.


	5. aLeRt

aLeRt

Jones sat next to the head of Immunity Force, Director Carrie Melanin. She sat with a stiff straight back. She was pretty, in a sort of hot but scary as hell librarian way. Her hair was kept out of her face in a tight bun on the nape of her neck. Every single part of her uniform was perfectly in place. When Director Melanin caught Jones looking at her, Jones's brows raised themselves in surprise. The she-cell's look could have frozen an ocean in less than a second.

Keeping her gaze on Jones she whipped out her sleek cell phone and dialed quickly. She said into it, "Alert all precincts, we've got a virus on the loose. Have every Immunity officer out on a search. Search every organ, every limb, and every layer of muscle. Tell them to use extreme caution. When they've got him bring him to the maximum security chamber in the Liver, is that understood? Yes…good. I'll inform you of any new information from the bio-weaponry council and any new orders from the mayor."

She pocketed her cell phone and resumed to stare at Jones icily.

Jones shifted uneasily and when he turned away from her he found the mayor and vice mayor staring at him as well.

He began to feel a little squirm in his stomach. "Uh…" the sound came out very awkward and loud in the silence. Jones's eyes came over the little mayor and the squirming in his gut disappeared when he asked, "How old are you?"

Mayor Lane, very young and small, with her braided pig tails and pressed business suit gave Jones a smile. She said, "Isn't that obvious? I'm eleven."

There was silence in the limo again. Jones stared at the leader of Shane Metropolis and began to laugh.

The two other adult cells gave him a reproachful look. Jones continued to laugh and flopped into the backing of his seat. His laugh sounded forced and bitter. Mayor Lane's chin lowered slightly but her eyes never left Jones. She stared hard at him—she did not enjoy being laughed at.

"What?" she said bluntly.

Jones's laughter ended with a high pitched sigh. He cleared his throat, a tight smile still on his face.

"You're eleven," he said.

"So?" Lane snapped at him, forgetting her lessons in controlling her temper.

Jones let out a chuckle, "An eleven old she-cell can run a city with over a trillion cells. While a _forty_ old cell can't even answer a phone let alone lead a damn city!"

Jones laughed again but it faded into a harsh silence. He looked out at the passing cars and buildings. Everything looked so much cleaner than what he saw in Frank City. The kid knew how to do things and get other people to do the same. Jones was honestly impressed.

"It was your mayor's fault Frank died," Lane said.

"It was the mayor's fault every cell in there is dead," Jones said. "He cared more about some stupid trip to save his fucking re-election than a trillion lives."

"Watch your mouth," Vice Mayor Sternum said bluntly.

Jones glared at him with narrowed eyes. The vice mayor looked a lot like Mayor Lane. Same bangs neatly combed to the side. Same suit neatly pressed. Same way they crossed their arms and legs. The only difference was their eyes. Being a kid, Mayor Lane couldn't get rid of the childish spark in her big eyes. But Vice Mayor Sternum…his eyes were a little more angular and sleepy looking. Like a hawk or some other shit like that. Jones had seen those sorts of eyes in a lot of sleazy germs that were pulled through the precinct head quarters.

"Sorry," Jones muttered and looked back out the window.

"We understand your great loss, Officer Jones. But it is vital that we push forward with our plans of defense against this virus. Do you think that you're mentally and emotionally stable enough to assist us in our conflict against the virus?" Sternum asked.

"Do you really hafta ask?" Jones responded boldly. He felt a surge of energy come through him and he sat up straighter. "That bastard destroyed my home, my city. He killed off my friends. I'd be way more than happy to help you guys take this mother fucker down."

Sternum winced at Jones's cursing but he smiled approvingly nonetheless. "We need information on the virus," he said to Jones. "Anything you have on him. Anything at all. We could use that to find a good strong defense against him…maybe even some offense…"

"A'ight then…first off, this guy's name is Thrax. He's a red virus with dreadlocks. He's got this black coat that helps him fly around when he opens it up. He's wicked strong an' he's got this long, sharp claw on his left hand that can cut through everything and probably anything. He can also use it to set things into an inflammation," Jones explained.

"My partner, Drix, and me were put on a case about a 'routine sore throat'. But while we were at the sight of inflammation in the throat I found a completely wrecked saliva boat where I also found an eye witness of the account. That's how I found out about Thrax. The witness told me about him so I followed up on it. I went through two sources and I was led to a meeting in a zit that Thrax was holdin'.

I went under cover and snuck into the meeting. He was teaming up with a lot of bad germs and bacteria. He was planning on going to the Hypothalamus chamber in the brain and get a bead of DNA that would set Frank's temperature completely outta whack. Me and Drix got into a fight with Thrax and his boys after my cover was blown. Managed to kill off a lot of them with a massive freeze bomb Drix had on him. Because of that I got kicked off the force….

But that didn't stop me. And that freeze bomb didn't stop Thrax. Somehow the bastard managed to get away and get into the hypothalamus chamber. He kidnapped the mayor's assistant, Leah, and used her as some leverage against the Immunity Force. When Drix and I managed to catch up to him in the Uvula, I got Leah back and Drix shot an ice capsule at Thrax that froze that claw of his.

He wasn't able to use it but…he had pollen pods that Frank was allergic to and threw it out into the mouth. When Frank sneezed Thrax flew out. I had Drix shove me into his canon and shoot me out at Thrax. I flew out and I was able to latch onto him. We landed in Shane's eye and we kept fightin'. While we did Shane blinked and sent us flying out onto these false eyelashes she was wearin'. Thrax nearly had me but he got his hand shoved deep into the falsie and I managed to slip by him. The falsie fell and I was able to hang onto Shane's real lashed at the last second. The falsie fell into some alcohol and I thought that it was over. I fell from Shane's eye and I was aiming to dive back into Frank's mouth.

But when I was falling…I don't know…I don't know what happened…I remember diving through the air and then I felt this thing just HIT me in the head and then the next thing I knew…I was in some apartment in Shane city with that bastard Thrax. He told me that he brought me there to do this whole cat and mouse thing all over again. He's a twisted s'uma bitch…"

When Jones finished there was a few seconds of silence. Director Melanin spoke up first, "Did the ice you used against him prove affective?"

"Yeah, it really put him outta commission for a good few minutes," Jones told her.

The director whipped out her cell phone again. "Tell the bio weaponry council that we've found a good defense against the virus," she said. "Tell them to improve on the chrono-freezing weapons. And get them mass produced as soon as possible, do you understand me? And get the people down in the liver to turn the maximum security cell in the last levels of the jail into a freeze room. I want all this done within the next twenty four hours, do you understand me? Get those freeze guns to all of the officers of all the SWAT teams. We NEED to take down this virus, do you understand me?"

She cut off the connection in her phone and asked Jones, "You think he uses the germs and bacteria he teams up with as a distraction?"

Jones thought for a moment, "He uses them for muscle. The real distraction was the runny nose he gave Frank when he broke the sinus dam."

"Was he planning for a fake cold to cover up that fever?" she asked.

"Yeah…_yeah_!" Jones said with a bit of realization. "He was! And those thugs he hired we probably just gonna take the heat offa him if he got caught!"

"So he comes in, hires some germs as lackies, makes an excuse to hide what he's really doing, takes out a part of the hypothalamus, then makes his escape," Lane summed up. "If that's the case then…"

Mayor Lane jerked her head up at the director. She said, "Get some men to look in on Cysta. See what she's up to. There's a really good chance that Thrax teamed up with her."

The director nodded and whipped out her cell phone to spread the word.

"Cysta?" Jones repeated. "Who's that?"

"She's a cancer cell down in the Ovaries," Sternum explained. "We've been looking in on her from time to time to make sure that she doesn't cause any trouble. She says she's benign but we're still looking close at her activity. Ever since she appeared there have been quite a few disappearances of cells. She's become a really big problem in the underground. Even with the few germs we've got around here, there's still a lot of trouble and Cysta is the center of it all but we've never been able to pin anything on her."

"We believe that she's running some kind of undercover cancer cell conversion," Lane continued. "She kidnaps cells, pumps them full of whatever it is she uses to make them into cancer cells, and continues to do that until she's got an army. She might make a big tumor down in the Ovaries and create come kind of Ovarian Cancer. We haven't found her labs yet but if this guy Thrax wants to make partners with one of the biggest and baddest bosses we got in Shane Metropolis then Cysta is the person he wants."

"Ma'am, I've informed the board to alert all precincts," Melanin reported. "Do you have any further orders?"

"We're heading to my office to put out an alert for the citizens. Jones, are you certain that we have less than thirty six hours?" Lane asked.

Jones nodded grimly, "Yeah, he said less than thirty six and he meant it. We don't got much time to lose."

Lane had the limo driver speed up and within a few more minutes they parked in front of the Cerebellum Hall. All four of them got out of the car and were immediately surrounded by security guards and a mass of news reporters with camera men.

The mass of cells closed in on Jones and the others and together they moved up the long flight of steps to a podium centered in front of the Hall's entrance. When Jones and the three important people got to the landing the group of security guards stopped and kept the reporters a good distance away. Questions flew by; many of them aimed at Lane.

Lane stood in front of the podium with Jones and the vice mayor flanking her. The director stood close by and was talking into her cell phone again.

"Everyone please quiet down," Lane said firmly into the group of microphones in front of her. "Those with cameras are we live and are we broadcasted throughout all channels in the network?"

"Yes, mayor. This broadcast is now live and on every channel," Melanin announced before the reporters could respond. She pocketed her cell phone and stood at attention.

Lane stood straighter and let out a breath. She inhaled slowly and began, "Citizens of Shane, this in an emergency alert broadcast. We have just received word that a virus has found its way into the city. Please be on the lookout for this virus and do not attempt to approach him. All immunity officers are to be on a lookout for a red virus wearing a black coat. Be cautious, He is said to kill cells upon contact. Please be on high alert, all citizens. All the white blood cells from all the Immunity Force precincts have been ordered to scour every organ and layer of tissue within Shane. And again, be alert, be cautious, and most of all…be safe, citizens of Shane. We may not have much time left before this virus is caught."

"Mayor Lane!" shouted a she-cell reporter from somewhere in the mass. "How do you plan to fight this virus?"

"We plan on getting Shane to a doctor immediately if she ever develops any kind of symptoms. Officer Jones here claims that the virus will create a mock illness to cover up for a destructive fever that the virus will create," Lane said.

"Officer Jones?" shouted the same she-cell. "How do you know about this?"

Lane moved aside and gestured Jones to the microphones. Jones rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I've dealt with this virus before when I was in Frank City."

There was a tense silence that lasted for at least three seconds and then a hurricane of questions flew at Jones.

"How did you escape?"

"How did you get into Shane? Are you accomplices with the virus?"

"Is he infected? Should he be detained in a maximum security facility?"

"Officer Jones, how are we to build a good defense against the virus?"

"Whoa, hold on now!" Jones said loudly. "I didn't escape. I was dragged into Shane before I was able to get back into Frank and help save his life. And NO, I'm not accomplices with the dang virus! I'm not infected, I'm not gonna be detained in now security facility, and LASTLY—we gotta ice this guy. He causes major inflammation with this claw that he's got. He aims for the Hypothalamus Gland in the brain and tears it up to make the fever that could kill. I suggest that the Hypothamlus be heavily guarded."

"Thank you officer," Lane said and took his place. "Are there any other questions?"

"Mayor Lane, any words on the cancer cell that was allegedly deemed 'benign'?" shouted a male reporter.

Before Lane could answer the vice mayor stepped in and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that we should deal with one major illness at a time. As of now, dealing with the virus Thrax is our topmost priority. The cancer cell is being watched closely by authorities and will be dealt with severely should she choose to attack the body at any given moment. But for now, we must watch out for this virus that is a major threat to this metropolis. I believe that is enough answers for you all. Citizens of Shane please take the mayor's words of caution very seriously. We will inform you of any new developments. Take care, all of you."

Sternum placed his hand on Lane's shoulder and left immediately for the entrance. The director was left for questioning, and unsure of what would happen next, Jones followed after the mayor.


	6. iNfLaMmAtIoN

iNfLaMmAtIoN

"_Citizens of Shane, this in an emergency alert broadcast. We have just received word that a virus has found its way into the city. Please be on the lookout for this virus and do not attempt to approach him. All Immunity officers are to be on a lookout for a red virus wearing a black coat. Be cautious, he is said to kill cells upon contact. Please be on high alert, all citizens. All the white blood cells from all the Immunity Force precincts have been ordered to scour every organ and layer of tissue within Shane. And again, be alert, be cautious, and most of all…be safe, citizens of Shane. We may not have much time left before this virus is caught._"

Thrax's frown deepened as he watched the emergency broadcast on the massive screen that hung from a blimp that floated over the city's roofs. He was on a building roof top cluttered with water tanks and air conditioning generators. He knelt beneath the stilts of the biggest tank and had his back pressed stiffly against one as he listened to the echoing voice of the mayor. When the vice mayor took over the broadcast Thrax wrung the Hypothalamus chain in his hands.

"So," he growled. "Looks like little birdie Jones already sang for the Immunity Force and the mayor. And they actually listened to him…"

He gave the chain a little snap in irritation. "Kid's a lot smarter than her dumbass daddy. Oh well…good thing I love to think ahead of the game."

He climbed to the top of the water tower and cut a hole into its roof, slipping himself in side and evaporating all the water with his talon.

Thrax waited for several hours until night came and the city darkened with Shane's sleep. He got out of the tank and scanned the surrounding area. There were a couple of helicopters zooming from place to place with their blinding search lights going over every single roof top. Thrax quickly ran over to the edge of the building and looked over at the roads. They were lined with red cell and white cell cars alike and he moved along the edge of the roof to look for a better place to land. On the opposite side he found a dim alley and jumped from the ledge and onto the ground. To his right he found an Immunity car parked in the entrance of the alley.

The Immunity officers were just about to get out of the car when he landed and he quickly jumped up into an inflammation escape to avoid them. As the officers scanned the alley he jumped from the inflammation escape to a nearby balcony and crouched, waiting for them to pass by.

Thrax watched them carefully and when they were in just the right location he jumped down onto one of them, slicing off the officer's head with ease and doing the same to the other before the cell could even scream. As their bodies boiled into a hot bubbling puddle, Thrax got into the car and drove off without notice.

+0+

During his first five days in Shane's body, after he had snuck into an empty apartment and dumped Jones's body onto the floor, Thrax had subsequent time to analyze her. She was young and in perfect health. Everything about her seemed in perfect order except for the fact that she hadn't had her first menstrual cycle yet. There were very few bacteria in her body and getting more information about her health deficiencies was difficult.

Until, that is, he found a Rhino virus that had some interesting information about the Ovaries.

Thrax had found the Rhino virus in a bar in what little fat tissue Shane had in her hips. Shane was fast asleep and the rest of the city was in its natural slow activity so he had no problem with walking down the darkened streets.

The bar was second class at best, filled to the brim with large muscled simpleton germs.

When he stepped into the bar all activity stopped to look at him. Thrax kept a stoic face as he made his way past the germs and towards the bartender. As he did so, he heard a small rumble of comments and mocking chuckles.

Thrax signaled to the bartender, a foul looking germ with very broad round shoulders and four eyes lined in a straight row on his forehead.

"Wuddya need pal?" the bartender asked gruffly.

"I need info on a couple of things," Thrax said suavely.

"Yeah, like wut?"

Thrax leaned on the bar counter and tapped his sharp claws against its reflective surface saying, "I'd like to know if there's anything big goin' down in this hum drum lil' city. It's my first time here and I'm needin' to get in on some action."

A ripple of laughter came from behind him from the group of thugs but he ignored it, accidentally allowing one of his claws to carve a deep scratch into the counter.

"Sorry," said the bartender as he wiped at a slimy shot glass. "But I would'n no 'bout some'in like dat."

"Is that so?" Thrax said, looking at him from over his sunglasses. He turned around towards the rest of the germs. "What about the rest of you pathetic amoebas? Any a you got any info on more intelligent beings in this damn city that wanna cause a lil' trouble?"

A bottle cam whizzing past Thrax's head, barely skimming the top of his scalp. He lowered his glasses at the germ who threw it and glared at him.

"Was that a 'no' or do you wanna start somethin'?" Thrax said coolly.

The germ who threw it seemed to be the biggest outta the bunch with massive bulky arms and bare torso. He had a dark brown body with bright yellow spots on his skin. He had a giant glowing blue eye in the middle of his face and a mouth filled with sharp teeth in his chest. He stomped forward, his steps shaking the entire bar. By the way the other germs obediently let him through, he was the big leader around there.

He lumbered over to Thrax and picked him up by the front of his jacket.

"I'm top gun 'round 'ere," the giant germ grumbled. "You want some work that'll get you some green you come to me and beg for it."

"Oh, I'm not really up for begging," Thrax said pleasantly. "But I highly doubt that _you_ are one of the top guns in this city. You're more like one of those lil' pop guns that a kid picks up from the dime store at the corner. Not exactly the kind of gun I'd like to follow."

The germ growled in a rage and slammed Thrax down against the counter. His massive hand moved from the front of Thrax's coat to around the neck. In the process Thrax's glasses fell of his face and broke apart on the floor. The germ stuck his ugly face up closer and yelled, "LOOK YOU LITTLE BITCH—I'M THE TOP DOG IN THIS CITY! I RUN THINGS AROUND HERE! I CALL ALL THE SHOTS! YOU DON'T COME IN HERE SWAGGEIRNG LIKE A HO AND DISS ME IN FRONT OF MY GUYS! AND JUST FOR THAT I'M GONNA FUCKING CUT UP YOUR GAY LIL' ASS WITH A BROKEN BOTTLE!!!!"

As the germ went on with his little rant Thrax's eyes hardened and his face stiffened. At the end of the germ's yelling Thrax shoved his talon deep into the bulky hand that held him down and ripped it up from the middle. The virus let out a head splitting scream as lumpy yellow pus came pouring out of his hand. Thrax knocked him back with a kick to the chest and dodged the many bullets of hot plasma that began to fire at him.

He jumped from table to table, slicing up each germ that held a gun at him. He continued doing this until the entire bar was filled with bubbling puddles that began to set the place into an inflammation. The giant Thrax took out earlier was howling in pain and he went up to it and slammed the heel of his boot into its single glowing eye.

The germ let out another scream of pain and Thrax silenced him by shoving his talon down his throat. The germ gagged and gurgled in pain

"Now I'm gonna ask again," Thrax said in a low dangerous tone. "Do you know anyone who's planning on causing big trouble in this city?"

The germ let out a chocked gag and shook his head. Thrax cut a small part on the inside his throat and yelled, "_Give me an answer_!"

The germ let out a frantic choked voice of agreement and Thrax pulled out his talon to allow him to speak.

After a bit of coughing he said in a hoarse voice. "Ca…cancer cells…"

Thrax's eyes brightened with interest, "Where?"

"I-i-in the ovaries. I h…heard that they were pla…planning on making a tumor in the…in the ovaries. A...and that's all I know."

"Thank you," Thrax said kindly. He bent closer to him and asked, "By the way, exactly what are you?"

The guy paused before answering. "…Rh...Rhino…virus…"

Thrax's face froze for a moment and he burst into a jeering laugh.

"That's the most pitiful thing I've ever heard!" he shouted between his laughs. "A _Rhino virus_ that thinks he's all that! A _cold virus_ thinks he's the baddest boy around! A virus that causes a _runny nose_ and a _lil' fever_ thinks he's got the entire city in his back pocket!"

Thrax laughed as the building became engulfed in flames and began to scorch the Rhino virus that lay at his feet. He turned to leave but felt a tug at his coat.

"P…please! Don't…don't leave me in here!" the Rhino virus begged.

Thrax sneered at him, yanking his coat outa his grubby hands. He leaned down towards him and whispered with a toothy grin, "Lemme hear you beg for it."

The Rhino virus wheezed and coughed, and he even began to let out choked sobs, "I don't wanna die! Please…_please_! You gotta get me outta here! Please! PLEASE!"

Thrax smiled, "Good. But not good enough."

In a swift motion, he sliced off the virus's head and cut up the rest of the body, leaving it behind in a flurry of flames.


	7. InFeCtEd

Author's Note: I know that it's been a few years since the last update but since then I have been dealing with a lot that left little time for writing. But thankfully things have finally settled down and I just may be finishing this piece. Enjoy readers.

InFeCtEd

Thrax continued to drive southward. He sped past several other Immunity cars without being noticed.

"Car 2-0-0-9, come in."

Thrax's eyes shot towards the Immunity scanner.

"Car 2-0-0-9, come in."

He picked up the little microphone speaker, clearing his throat and holding it far from his mouth saying, "This is car 2-0-0-9, responding."

"What is your status?" said the female voice of an officer. "Did you find anything in your sector?"

Thrax paused for moment and said, "That'd be a negative. Sector is clear."

"What is your status?" the voice repeated.

"We just got word that the virus is going to start a major infection up in the ear," Thrax lied.

"Roger that," the voice said. "All Immunity Force located in the Mouth and Esophagus sectors, requesting a search in both the left and right ears. We have just received word that the virus is going to cause a major ear infection. Please approach the virus with utmost caution. Virus is to be brought immediately into the Liver when captured."

Thrax ripped out the Immunity scanner and tossed it out the window, cussing under his breath about the white blood cells of the Immunity Force.

"Mo'fo's anal as _hell_!"

+0+

When he arrived at the Right Ovary after setting that slum bar ablaze, the place turned out to a single story ritzy looking strip club. It had a large glowing sign above its double door entrance that said, 'Cysta's Crib', scrawled out in fancy cursive. There was a line of sleek and expensive cars pulling in front of the entrance and keys were being handed off to valets. There were security cells standing in front of the entrance checking the entrance passes which were little black rings that the patrons wore on their hands. Thrax let out a low whistle and decided to sneak around back.

Thrax pressed himself against the building, looking cautiously around the corner. There were about three very big muscle cells guarding the dimly lit back entrance. They were laughing as they played a round of poker and downing bottles of carbohydrates. He grinned when he spotted one of the guards wearing a nice pair of shades that looked exactly the ones he lost. Thrax saw a security camera above the back entrance and rounded the corner and dashed at full speed towards the guards, using the face of a startled guard cell as a boost to jump up and slice up the camera. He then knocked out all three guards, being careful not to damage the shades he wanted.

They fell off and tinked loudly when they hit the ground. Thrax let out a slightly disappointed groan and snatched them up with a frown. After looking them over once and ignoring the small scratch it received he placed them over his eyes and picked the lock of the back entrance with his talon.

Peering in he found a hall with a few open doors, several red blood cells rushing in and out of them pushing carts with several bottles and long stemmed glasses. Thrax coolly strolled by them all and even held the door out for one of them as they pushed the cart into the bustling main floor.

The floors were carpeted red and the walls held an assortment of posters and framed pictures of the club's patrons and girls. The stages were lit from below with gold light and the high ceiling had the same sort of light built into it that went off in intervals. There were many high-class looking cells indulging in drinks in groups that were gathered around small stages that each had a she-cell dancing around a pole or on a chair. They danced to techno music that had a deep stimulating beat that wove in with the steady shatter of the viewers.

Thrax snagged a martini glass off of a waitress that was teetering by and downed it in one gulp. He looked around at the cells in the room for any that seemed to be of the cancer type but most of them were typical red blood cells. A white blood cell would be seen here and there and the occasional brain cell came up. He also took a look at the dancers and the waitresses, all typical blood cells.

Thrax scoffed, dropping off his empty glass on another teetering waitress's tray and decided to head back out to try the other ovary. He was about to exit out the front entrance when he passed by a group whose bit of conversation caught his attention.

"I'm tellin' you, you won't believe the cells they got down there in the v.i.p. lounge!" a lanky brain cell said enthusiastically.

"Lucky we were able to book ourselves a special show!" said another brain cell.

Thrax backtracked a little bit and followed them back into the club. They crossed over the entire first floor and followed them into an entrance hidden behind a panel beneath a heavy red curtain in a short hall by the open bar. When they disappeared into the entrance Thrax quickly walked back through the employee's hallway and went off to find stairs or an elevator down to the lower levels. He found an elevator and slipped in, shutting the doors before any of the workers could join the ride. It was four floors down when the doors reopened and he cautiously peeked passed them, spotting the brain cell group from before going through a pair of elaborately decorated doubled doors guarded by four muscular bacteria. After a couple minutes after the cells went in he approached the doors. One of the bacteria shoved his arm out to bar out Thrax.

"This is a private show buddy," he said.

"I know that," Thrax said. "Now let me in."

"Forget it," the bacteria continued. "It's been booked for only six guys. All of them brain cells, you don't look like a brain cell to me."

Thrax looked all four of the bacteria up and down, unimpressed. "Your boss has very little taste in body guards. And I thought cancer cells were much more tasteful than that."

All four of the guards stiffened at his mention of cancer cells. Thrax smiled.

"But I do know that they're quite temperamental," Thrax pushed on. "And they hate to have somebody make them angry, am I right?"

The guards muttered in agreement.

"so, if I were to take up this little frustration you've cause me by not allowing me to go in, would your boss have your groins sliced up and put on a silver platter?"

The guards grew silent. The one that had barred the door from Thrax said, "Our boss said only six brain cells. That's all. Nothing else. She didn't say nothin' about another guy comin' in."

"Are you sure?" Thrax asked in mock concern.

One of the other bacteria snorted and said, "Beat it. If the boss didn't say nothing 'bout an extra guest, then you ain't goin' in."

"Too bad." Thrax sighed. "I guess your boss is gonna have your sliced groins brought to her on a silver platter after all."

Thrax's arm shot forward and he stabbed the bacteria barring the door with his talon, ripping his arm upward and splitting the bacteria's head in two. The others shouted in alarm and rushed at him only to have parts of their body sliced off and their throats cut from making noise. Once they all went down Thrax flicked off the goop from his talon in disgust, straightening out his coat and dreads before entering the V.I.P.

The double door led him into a small hall with a curtain at the end. He slipped through the curtain and found himself in a room lit with several candles. The room was dim and Thrax found the brain cells lounging in arm chairs that surrounded a large circular stage in the middle. He stuck close to the entrance and listened to the music as the show began.

"Welcome gentlemen," said a sultry voice that rang throughout the room. "I welcome you to this special private view courtesy of Cysta's Crib. And it is my pleasure to introduce you all to your entertainment tonight, the Black Angels."

The cells applauded enthusiastically and the music picked up tempo. The room darkened even more and the stage's floor lit up. A light fog filled the room and a platform rose from the middle of the stage. Large spotlights lit up above the platform, and in its soft gold glow were six thin figures wearing sheer cloaks and feathered white masks. The six figures danced in a circle around the stage, each of them twirling and moving provocatively. When the music hit the climax they threw off their cloaks, revealing well shaped female bodies, the brain cells letting out wolf whistles and hollers.

Thrax lowered his glasses slowly and studied their bodies. Their skin was fleshy looking and spotted with sickly colors—these fine looking ladies weren't at all like any other cell he's seen so far. He let out a hum of satisfaction and licked his lips, he had finally found what he was looking for.

The women began to dance faster, the six of them moving forward to each brain cell sitting in front of the stage. The women touched each cell tantalizingly, swinging their hips and throwing back their voluminous manes of dirty yellow hair. The music grew louder and louder, the women becoming more frisky and provocative. When the music rose to an almost deafening volume, a bright and blinding spotlight shone over Thrax

The women left the brain cells and came towards Thrax, the one in the lead running her fingers along his neck and shoulder suggestively. They guided him to the stage and had him step onto it. The six of them dance around Thrax, getting close to him and brushing up against him and all the while letting their fingers roam against the upper half of his body.

The brain cells, though disappointed at the lack of attention, began to hoot and holler for Thrax who smiled at each of the girls and watched them as they returned to their men and resumed dancing for them. The stage beneath Thrax began to move and he stepped back onto the floor. It let out a low hiss when it lowered and when it raised again another female cell was revealed. He had the same sickly, fleshy body type as the other girls but wore a more simple, yet flattering, outfit—a long black shoulder-less dress that had a slit that began right at the end of her hip to show off her curves and legs. Her dirty yellow hair was much shorter and straighter than the others and her eyes opened vertically on her face—they were nothing more than slits that stared icily at Thrax.

"Well, _hello_…" Thrax said in a pleased tone but the she-cell didn't respond and simply stood and stared at Thrax with the corners of her mouth beginning to turn downwards.

Amid the booming bass of the music, Thrax heard several screams of pain. He looked back to see that each of the six warped female cells had stuck a syringe into the body of the brain cell they were entertaining. The brain cells writhed in agony, falling out of their chairs and flailing on the floor. Their bodies began to steam and blacken and their eyes turned a sick yellow as they continued to scream. The six women jumped onto the stage and armed themselves with their syringes while flanking the cell in the black dress, glaring at Thrax.

The she-cell in the dress raised her hand and the music instantly lowered in volume. "Just _who_ the hell are _you_?"

Thrax gave her a salute of his talon, "Thrax. And you are?"

"Cysta," she said. "What are you doing in here?"

"I'm looking for the real top dog around this city," Thrax said. "And I guess I found her."

Cysta motioned for her girls to surround Thrax, "So what do you want Mr. Thrax?"

"I hear that you're planning on giving this city a tumor, is that right?"

"Where did you hear that from?" she asked curtly.

"Just from a fellow virus I met a little while back. But don't worry, baby…I took care of him already," Thrax brought out his talon and held it up, glowing.

Cysta examined the talon unfazed, "what are you here for?"

"I'm here to give you a proposition," Thrax said. "I'm also planin' on giving this city a lil' hell and I thought that it'd be a good idea to team up with someone that was planin' to do the same."

Cysta stayed silent and folded her arms.

"So, Cysta, you in or not?"

"What exactly do you plan to do this city?" she asked.

With lightning speed Thrax knocked the syringe out of one of the she-cells' hand, taking her into a headlock and holding the talon against her face. "Allow me to give you a little demonstration."

He tapped her face gently and shoved her onto the floor. The others jerked to help but Cysta held her hand out to stop them.

The now she-cell had a small glowing orange dot on her face which soon webbed out to the rest of her body in burning trails that spread out into growing, bubbling patches that burned her alive. As the she-cell screamed bloody murder causing the others to away in horror.

When the cell's body bloated and exploded, spraying hot plasma everywhere Cysta and the others gaped at him.

"You've got yourself a deal, Thrax," Cysta said in a shaky voice.

"Glad you see it my way baby," Thrax replied with a toothy grin.


End file.
